Friday, Sacramento, California

Delusions of Entitlement

Pamela Anderson, the freakish celebrity cartoon made an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneris Show this week and told a story about playing poker with a friend. I’m sure she thought the story was cute. But then she noted that “…I was down $250,000. dollars…”  Say what!?

Let’s get this straight. You’re having a typical weekend night of fun and enjoyment playing cards and lost a quarter million dollars? But that’s not all. She lost the cash to a professional poker player and made a deal with him to settle the debt with “sexual favors.” And wouldn’t you know, sometime into their negotiations she fell in love with him and is planning on marrying. Does he know she has hepatitis C?

I chalk this pathetic incident up to the fact that in this particular case, this lady’s stunning insensitivity about how she sounds to the audience is because she is as dumb as a hedgerow fence. She betrayed no awareness of how revolting it sounds to gamble away what for many people is a lifetime of income for a fun evening.

We all understand that celebrities are living a unique life of wealth and privilege. Regular people look upon them life with fascination and surely some envy. They are catered to and relieved of virtually every inconvenience - from carrying their luggage to the chores of parenting their children. Most of us, however find it very disconcerting when a celebrity conveys the attitude that they deserve the life of detached privilege they enjoy.

Americans are a generous lot who cheer for people who make it big. But the achievement should certainly be worthy of the rewards they reap. It’s tough enough to equate television and film acting with millions of dollars. We are somewhat tolerant of athletes who get rich. But there needs to be a sense of accomplishment tied to the reward. In America we are witnessing the curious phenomenon of individuals becoming rich celebrities with little or no apparent tie to any personal achievement. Has this happened in history before? I’m not too sure.

A misplaced sense of entitlement is always particularly revolting.